Of Ninja Dogs And Their Masters
by Mean-o
Summary: This one-shot tells us Minato's views regarding Inuzuka dogs. What does the fourth Hokage think of those mangy mutts? Find out.


Ninja dogs are dogs after all. Though the Inuzuka Nin-K9 won't agree to it, they believe themselves to be superior to other dogs. What! You haven't seen a nin-K9 yet! That means you have not yet met any Inuzuka yet. Well, I even had the opportunity to party at their clan house. That was the night when I got an opportunity to observe these dogs closely. Not only that, out of protocol, I had to pet them as well. Pretty big deal you say? No it isn't.I just did what any person who does not want to face Tsume's wrath would have done. And confidentially I believed that I was registering my name on PETA's "Kages-Whom-We-Don't-Bother" list with this act. Even though it would be great to watch those naked girls protesting in front of my office every morning, but then I would have Kushina's anger to worry about.

I don't want to admit it, but yes I was a bit scared. Those dogs could have bit me; they could have torn me apart. After all they did not care if I was the Hokage; they just want to plunge their teeth deep into me. But they were not doing so, it was not their master's will. And this is exactly what Tsume wants. While fighting these dogs could become a fierce partner and at times of peace, you could increase your "menace-aura" just by letting a couple of those dogs walk beside you. Well its menacing for me, I admit these ninja mutts scare the hell out of me.

I remember the day when I was invited by Tsume for dinner. Instead of their living room, I happened to teleport straight to Tsume's room. The dogs starting growling at me, awaiting their master's order.

One of them, who is called Totoumaru I believe asked, "What do we do Tsume-chan? Rip his throat apart? Gouge out his eyes?"

"WAIT A MINUTE! THESE MUTTS CAN TALK! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN RIP APART MY THROAT? GOUGE OUT MY EYES? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU MANGY MUTT!" These were the thoughts in my mind at that moment but I knew better than to speak out my thoughts aloud and lose my tongue.

"Just shut up Totoumaru, you are such a mood killer. I invited him over tonight. Go outside and take care of the puppies."

Then it just struck me that I had placed the Hirashin kunai at the Inuzuka household's living room on one of my earlier visits , not in Tsume's bedroom. And secondly, Tsume was naked. As soon as my Hokage level intellect realised what she was up to, I literally flew away from the place.

Back in my office, as I tried to catch a quick nap, my mind went back to those monstrosities. Well for those who haven't yet seen an Inuzuka nin-K9, allow me to describe them.

First of all, they are huge. They can be as large as a wolf, if not as large as a bear. Whenever it panics, it opens up its huge mouth and allows its tongue to hang between those sharp fangs. You get a strange feeling while looking into its mouth. It's like you are looking into the gates of a huge magnificent castle. A strange fear creeps into your mind that the gate will swallow you up whole. That is the feeling you get when you look at a nin-K9's mouth, which is always open.

Its ears! They always seem to be rotating in search of the slightest trace of sound. If you allow me, I would like to compare them to a radar. Their rotating years catch every sound. They can pick up even the sounds of chipmunks running on the front lawn when they are having a good time in the bath. Well after the bedroom incident with Tsume, I decided to use my feet to get to the Inuzuka's. As soon as those radar ears pick up the sound of my sandals they assemble at the front gate. Ready to attack, one of them (Totoumaru I believe) looks at Tsume as if asking for permission. Luckily Tsume is a very good girl. She decides that the guest should not be harmed. And I am saved.

The incident further upped my belief that the Inuzukas do not fear anyone. And why should they be afraid? They live in a huge badass bungalow, rear huge badass ninja mutts who eat thrice as much as a normal person's diet.

Talking about their diet, the ninja mutts eat a lot. (The Inuzukas must have a separate budget for their mutts) Call it a curse or a blessing, but they surely eat a lot. But sometimes it is disappointing to see them roaming near Ichiraku Ramen and lapping up the leftover ramen soup. Perhaps the true nature of a nin-K9s cannot be changed, however you groom it.

Dogs are faithful to their masters, no doubt about that. But the Inuzuka nin-k9s are a bit too faithful. Their sense of smell, much better than any normal dog, is always used for the sake of their masters. Every minute, every second, the dog senses danger around his master and whenever it notices a slight disturbance, it decides that the disturbance is aimed at his master, planning to harm him/her. The squirrel, Tora (Damiyo's cat), civilians and me; all of us are dangerous. The ninja mutt will start barking loudly the instance it sees any of the above threats and will continue barking as long as the threat is in sight. How futile! But still it gives enough reason for the Inuzukas to take pride on their mutts. Every investment on the dogs is deemed successful and they think that they are quite clever, having such ferocious beasts under their control. But the dogs think that they are cleverer; clever enough to get themselves such good masters. Good for them that they are so smart.

But for a last few days, I believe that I am becoming a bit less afraid of the mutts. Instead of fear, what I felt was sadness. Poor nin-K9s, their existence is doomed to be with their masters, day in and day out. How could they manage to take care of their huge body if it wasn't for their master? They could not possibly live on the streets like other dogs. They needed security and comfort which was provided by their master and in exchange they had to do a bit ninja fighting and maim any one it considers a threat. They are dogs, it is their bad luck that they are ninja dogs. And as a ninja dog it had to fulfil its duties. Otherwise who is going to take good care of them? When I last saw Totoumaru, I could only feel sorry for him. That does not mean that I am not afraid of them. But the fear is slowly receding away.


End file.
